The Good ol' Days
by wafische
Summary: An old friend from Lancer's past comes back to haunt him...Story Complete. Please R
1. Bad Week

Hey, all! Wrote this over November. I tried to make it as much like a real episode of the show as I could. Not related to any of my other stories.

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It was a typical Monday morning at Casper High School. First period was about to start and the halls were lined with students getting things out of their lockers and heading off towards their classes.

"Ah, morning," Mr. Lancer said as he strolled down the halls, "My favourite time of the day," it had been a good morning for him so far. The morning paper, a hot mug of coffee, his lessons all planned out, and a look through _How to Speak Hip for the Un-Hip_ before heading to work. It had been a good morning indeed. So far. Had Mr. Lancer possessed ghost powers or a Fenton gadget, he would have noticed the snickering ghost resembling a gym teacher in invisible form place the banana peel in the hall. Humming to himself with his eyes closed, Mr. Lancer did not see it as his right foot landed on it and slipped.

"The Three Musketeers!" he exclaimed as he stumbled down the hall, crashing into an empty wastebasket by the janitor. He fell in face-first, and it began tearing down the halls.

"Frankenstein!" students were either running away screaming or backed up against their lockers, laughing. Things were about to get worse. It so happened that Principal Ishiyama had recently had her office decorated with delicate and valuable family fortunes dating back centuries. She was admiring her decorations when the wastebasket slammed against the door, sending Mr. Lancer crashing through the glass and towards the heirlooms.

"_A Tale of Two Cities!_" he cried. He landed on the table, destroying a chest and several china pots. One that survived flew into the air and knocked down the small chandelier. As he got to his feet he noticed the principal's furious glare. He smiled weakly.

_(He's a Phantom)  
(Danny Phantom)_

**_Yo, Danny Fenton, he was just fourteen  
When his parents built a very strange machine  
It was designed to view a world unseen_**

_(He's gonna catch 'em all cuz he's Danny Phantom)  
_  
**_When it didn't quite work  
His folks, they just quit  
But then Danny took a look inside of it  
There was a great big flash  
Everything just changed  
His molecules got all rearranged!_**

_(Phantom, Phantom)_

**_When he first woke up  
He realized  
He had snow white hair  
And glowing green eyes  
He could walk through walls,  
Disappear, and fly!  
He was much more unique than the other guy! _**

It was then that he knew what he had to do  
He had to stop all the ghosts  
That were coming through  
He's here to fight  
For me and YOU!

_(He's gonna catch 'em all cuz he's Danny Phantom)  
(He's gonna catch 'em all cuz he's Danny Phantom)_

**Gonna catch them all cuz he's** _Danny Phantom  
_  
**The Good ol' Days**

"Mr. Lancer, this is inexcusable!" Principal Ishiyama was beside herself with fury. Janitors were taking out the last of her ruined decorations as she lectured her vice principal and English teacher.

"I didn't plant that banana peel there!" Mr. Lancer said in defence, "I certainly didn't intend to destroy your office! A student probably didn't remember to dispose of garbage in the garbagecan!"

"Which student then!?"

"I didn't see them!"

"Then you should pay more attention when in the halls! You're always going on about how much you play by the rules! Now why don't you enforce them!?"

"Now, see here!" Mr. Lancer rose to his feet, "I've been plenty hard on these kids concerning conduct in the hallways! One little accident does not…"

"Little? Do you have any idea what those heirlooms mean to me!? What were you doing, walking around with your eyes closed?" Mr. Lancer opened his mouth to protest, but quickly realised he had indeed been walking around with his eyes shut.

"Look," the principal sighed, "I'm sorry if I overreacted. But you know as well as I do that we've had strange problems going on around here and the school district's putting me under pressure. Just make sure not to let this sort of thing happen again, alright?"

"You have my word," Lancer smiled in relief. Neither of them saw the invisible gym teacher ghost on the ceiling, laughing to himself.

----

"Now is the winter of our discontent, made glorious summer by this son of York…" Mr. Lancer read aloud to his third hour English class. It had been two days since the accident in Principal Ishiyama's office, and everything seemed to be going fine. Several of the students actually appeared interested by the passage he was reading from _Richard III_. The gym teacher ghost, still invisible, flew into the room silently. He entered the body of a student, whose eyes soon became red. Grinning, the overshadowed teen began readying spitballs of various sizes and pulled out a straw. He fired the first at the board. Mr. Lancer, ignoring it, went on. The second was fired, hitting the book. A third nipped Lancer's ear. They came faster and grew inside, landing all over the English teacher's face. He stumbled back and fell out the open doorway and onto the floor. He could hear the students laughing and, through the spitballs, see Principal Ishiyama standing over him, looking less than pleased.

----

The next day, Mr. Lancer was patrolling the halls in the morning again, more alert than he had been on Monday. Principal Ishiyama was still upset over the office and the incident in the hall had only strengthened her animosity. He was not going to let a student get the better of him again. Unfortunately, the gym teacher ghost, safe and sound in an empty locker, had other ideas. He sent out a wave of green energy with his hand, touching Dash, Qwan, and several of their friends. They all gained michevious grins.

"Hey Lancer!" Qwan called as Mr. Lancer walked by, "Is that your head, or did you get in an accident and need a bowling ball to replace your skull?" despite the mediocrity of the joke, Dash and the other jocks cracked up laughing.

"Now see here, Qwan…" Lancer marched over.

"We'll 'see here' when you catch us!" they took off, laughing like first graders who'd just pulled an amusing little prank.

"Come back here!" Lancer took off after them, moving surprisingly fast for a man in his shape. The jocks had a rope made from the remnants of shoelaces from the kids they had bullied ready. Lancer felt his feet catch on the rope and his body fly to the ground…right by the feet of Principal Ishiyama.

----

On Friday it was Lancer's turn for lunch duty. Given the past events of the week, he was understandably cautious and stricter than need be. All these strange accidents were happening to him and him alone. Of course it was most likely mere coincidence. Still, it wouldn't hurt to keep a closer eye than usual open.

"Keep that food in your mouth!" he shouted at a junior nearby, who had accidentally let some of his mashed potatoes and gravy fall off his spork and onto the floor. The gym teacher ghost, invisible as always, flew up from the floor and overshadowed the boy's body.

"Food war on Lancer!" he shouted. Flinging his mashed potatoes at the vice-principal. The rest of the students, inspired by this move, began flinging their own food everywhere. Eventually, it became so great Lancer had to retreat from the cafeteria, holding the doors closed behind him. But something caught his eye. The gym teacher ghost had flown out of the cafeteria further down the hall, no longer invisible. Lancer looked closer at him. This had to be a hallucination. He was working too hard. But aside from the green skin, there was something familiar about this figure. The moustache, the red cap, the matching shirt…and then it hit him. No…it couldn't be…but it was!

"A Christmas Carol!" forgetting the chaos behind the cafeteria doors, he took off after the figure, who had flown down the halls after hearing Lancer's voice. Lancer was hardly aware of the person he ran into while chasing after the ghost. It was only after he realised that the spirit had vanished that he turned around to see whom he had knocked to the floor. It was Principal Ishiyama, who looked furious.

"Need some help getting up?" Lancer smiled weakly; judging by the lack of change in her expression, it was the wrong thing to say.

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And if any of you are still wondering about my DP/HP crossover; I have worked out some story issues and the next chapter will come soon!


	2. Taking the Fall

"You really expect me to believe that?" Principal Ishiyama demanded. Mr. Lancer had just described the ghost he had seen in the hallway. He was convinced that it was responsible for everything that had happened to him, or at the very least the incident in the cafeteria, which ended up taking a full hour to get under control. He had also begun to explain that he knew who the ghost was, but Principal Ishiyama had interrupted before he could get to that.

"I swear on Charles Dickens's grave it's true!" Lancer declared, "And I know who this ghost is! It's…"

"Mr. Lancer, even if I did believe your ridiculous excuse for a story, I'd be laughed out of the district office before I could even finish! All this suggests to me is that you're losing your mind, and fast!"

"Now, you listen here…"

"No, _you _listen, Slade! All these little mishaps around you have convinced the school district that it's your irresponsibility that's behind all the weird things that have gone on here, and I'm starting to see their point. But I know you and your record better than they do. I'm giving you another chance. But you'd better start manning a tighter ship around here, or I'll have no choice but to take action! Do I make myself clear?" the tone she took at those final words was truly frightening. Lancer sighed.

"Yes," he moaned.

----

By the end of the day, everything had calmed down. The students had been cleaned up from the food fight and the junior who had unknowingly started it had been given detention. Somehow, every student in the school knew that Mr. Lancer was taking the heat for all of this and was on thin ice with the principal. A couple of students who were less than pleased with him as a teacher had tried planning a series of pranks that would insure his being fired, but they didn't get far. Lancer, too well aware of his situation, had become even more strict than usual. His more whimsical and benevolent personality traits seemed gone forever, and he had been shouting at people for things as simple as accidentally dropping a piece of gum in the hallway. The pranksters…well, let's just say their punishment was far from lenient. Now Lancer patrolled the halls like a hawk, occasionally shooting a death glare at a random student.

"KEEP THOSE HEADPHONES DOWN!" he screamed at a nearby sophomore, whose music was high enough so that you could vaguely hear the basic rhythm. Danny, Sam and Tucker watched by Sam's locker.

"Lancer's really been taking the principal's threat seriously since the food fight in the cafeteria," Tucker commented, "Speaking of which, I managed to get some interesting digital pics," he pulled out his PDA. Several shots of Lancer appeared, the food splattered on him increasing with each pic displayed.

"Knock it off, Tucker," Sam shut her locker, "This isn't funny."

"Danny?" Tucker turned to his best friend, wearing a grin, but it soon fell away. Danny was looking after Lancer, a glum expression on his face.

"Danny?" Tucker repeated.

"What? Oh," he looked quickly at the pics, "Funny. Yeah," he turned back to down the hall.

"What's up with you?" Danny sighed.

"This isn't right. Lancer's getting blamed for every problem this school's had with ghosts, and I was the cause of some of those!"

"Dude, relax. It's not your fault if he gets fired."

"Do you want him fired?" Sam said, raising an eyebrow.

"What's the big deal? The only students he's ever nice to are Jazz and Dash. Remember when Sam changed the menu and we got blamed for everything?" Danny did remember. But he also remembered having to study for the make-up test.

"He's not that bad, Tuck. He's just…" he wasn't able to finish. Blue ectoplasmic smoke billowed out from his mouth.

"Oh no," he looked around. Down the hall, a ghost resembling a gym teacher had poked his grinning head out of a locker and looked after Mr. Lancer. He floated out in full, invisible, and overshadowed a boy near Lancer. It so happened that he was also near a fire alarm. One move of his hand, and the sirens were blaring all over the school, the sprinklers going off like mad.

"So _that's_ why all this stuff's happening around Lancer," Danny said, "Can't think of why, but…" Sam and Tucker surrounded him, blocking him from view. In a flash, the blue-white rings appeared around his middle, drifting up and down. Danny Phantom flew out from behind his friends and into the boy's body, knocking the gym teacher ghost out of him and into a nearby classroom.

"Know any good plays?" Danny asked sarcastically, "How 'bout one for getting out of here?"

"Back off, kid," the ghost sneered, "You think you have what it takes to take down Coach Winterburg?"

"Winterburg?" Danny couldn't help but grin, "Oh, yeah, _real_ intimidating. Why not try scaring me with a rubber chicken and whip cream pie?" Winterburg smiled malevolently. With a wave of his hand, a shockwave of green spectral energy filled the room, shaking all the desks and smacking Danny hard up against the wall.

"OK," Danny shook his head, "maybe this is a guy to take seriously," he shot his own blast back at Winterburg, who went intangible and let if fly through him. Danny flew at him, a kick ready, but he phased through that as well. The floors were wet and slippery from the sprinklers, so when Danny's foot came down on the floor, he quickly lost balance and fell flat on his back.

"Not the best in gym, are ya', sonny?" Winterburg grinned mockingly. Danny scowled. He flipped to his feet and swung another kick the coach's way. This time, he was too fast for him; the coach went flying through the chalkboard, through the next classroom, and into a janitor's closet. Danny prepared to go after him when voices outside the room caught his attention.

"I am incredibly sorry for all of this, sir," Principal Ishiyama was saying to a fireman, "We've been having problems like this all year. If that English teacher of mine was down here and didn't see this…"

"Oh, man," Danny remembered, "Lancer!" going invisible, he quickly sped out of the room and down the hall, going into human form in mid-air (and slipping on the floor again when landing). Lancer was looking around with a death-glare, trying to find the person responsible for all this.

"Mr. Lancer!" Danny ran up to him.

"What do you want!?" he spat.

"Principal Ishiyama's coming this way, and she's…"

"WHAT!?" he suddenly looked panicked, "Do you know who did this, Danny?"

"No, but…" they heard footsteps. The principal's shadow was coming up from the hall and towards them. There was only one thing to do.

"…But Mr. Lancer, I swear my bagpack just got caught on the switch!" Danny said in what he hoped was a convincing plead-for-mercy act. Mr. Lancer stared at him in bewilderment for a moment, then caught on.

"…Be that as it may, it was still your movements that triggered the alarm! I'm afraid I'll have to give you…"

"What's going on here?" Principal Ishiyama demanded.

"Just giving Mr. Fenton here his punishment," Lancer said simply, eyeing Danny, "A few weeks' detention I think should straighten him out."

"You mean you…and it was…and you weren't…" she sighed, "Fine, go on. I have apologies to make," she walked off.

"Thank you," Lancer whispered, with genuine relief in his voice.


	3. Lost Status

"You took the fall for it!?" Tucker's eyes were almost popping out of their sockets and up against his glasses. School had been released for the day, students were waiting for their rides, and the town's fire department had left. Danny had just finished telling Sam and Tucker what happened.

"He would've gotten fired!" Danny shrugged, "He sent a note to my parents saying that I didn't do it and all I have to do in detention is sit there for ten minutes starting tomorrow. It's not really that bad."

"You did the right thing, Danny," Sam smiled, putting her hand on his shoulder.

"He lied to the principal and got detention for something he didn't do!" Tucker shouted.

"To keep someone from getting fired," Sam glared at him.

"That Winterburg ghost got away," Danny said out of nowhere, more to himself than the others.

"I was wondering about that," Tucker said, "What kind of a name is Winterburg?"

"Trust me. He's tough. I wonder what his beef is with Lancer?" the Fenton RV pulled up, almost demolishing the car in front of it.

"See you later," Danny headed over.

----

The next Monday, though still far from his usual half-strict, half-soft routine, Lancer had relaxed a bit. Principal Ishiyama had bought his and Danny's act and backed off a little on chasing him down every time something went wrong. Now he was conducting his second-hour freshman English class, reading from _The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes_. Most of the students had fallen asleep or weren't paying attention. But Danny and Sam, thinking Lancer needed some help with keeping his image, managed to keep focused on his reading. Sam liked the book anyway, and Danny considered it mildly interesting. Tucker tried as well, but had to play his headphones quietly to keep himself looking awake.

"'Thank you,' said Holmes, 'I only wished to ask you how you would go from here to the Strand,'" Lancer read, doing a fairly good job at imitating Basil Rathbone's voice. As he listened Danny watched as blue ectoplasmic smoke floated out from his mouth. A green mist was seeping through the ventilation, slowly drifting towards the students. The second it touched the first boy in the back row, his eyes flashed red for a moment and he gained a nasty grin. Danny thrust his hand into his bagpack and dug around. He pulled out two pairs of Fenton Phones. Ever since the incident with Ember he'd kept a few pairs of them with him whenever they were out of the house…just in case. Since he didn't have a third set, he hoped this mist wasn't strong enough to work against his ghost powers.

"Guys," he whispered, nodding down to his hand. Sam quickly put them on. Tucker started to rip off his headphones, but he'd only managed to get in one Fenton Phone before the mist drifted over the trio as well. His eyes didn't flash red, but the whites of his eyes did become pinker for a brief moment.

"And this passage I find particularly interesting…" Lancer looked up from his book. Every student he could see was grinning malevolently up at him.

"Is there something amusing about this story?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"BREAK-OUT!" a student in the back screamed. Pencils, paper, and notebooks flying, the entire class went storming towards the door. Tucker tried both to join in and force himself back down into the desk, grabbing for the last Fenton Phone, but before he could reach it, the crowd caught him and forced him along. Lancer threw himself in front of the door.

"You people aren't going any…" the crowd overwhelmed him. The door was flung open and Lancer fell off to the side, the class breaking for the nearest exit to the school.

"Come back here!" Lancer stormed after them, but then caught sight of a wisp of green. Winterburg was floating out from the ventilation in the halls, grinning. Lancer didn't know what to do now; try and get his students back, or chase down the ghost that he was positive had them acting up. Finally, far too late to get them back, he went after his students. The front doors to the school were almost off their hinges, the mass of freshmen charging down towards the Nasty Burger. Tucker still made some attempt to get out of the crowd, but it was no good.

"Better get the car running and…" Lancer turned around to go get his keys, but before he could take a full step, he came face to face with Principal Ishiyama, her arms crossed and her eyes narrowed.

"Oh," Lancer laughed weakly, "I was just about to get my keys and head after…"

"I'm sorry, Slade," she shook her head, "This just confirms the school district was right. You're status as vice-principal is now at an end, and I will seriously be considering terminating your employment here. I'd have fired you already if all your students had gone charging out the building," she walked away, leaving a stunned Lancer alone in the doorway. He was surprised to find himself not so shocked about losing his status as vice-principal. What did she mean, if _all_ his students had left? He hurried back to his classroom. Sure enough, Danny and Sam were sitting there, looking a bit shocked, but with no signs of running out of the room or wanting to.

"Well…what are you two still doing here?" he demanded, "Planning on charging out the second Ms. Ishiyama walks by!?"

"Actually, we were planning on going to our next class when the bell rings," Sam said. Lancer stared at both her and Danny as if he had never seen them before in his life.

"Well…" though he'd just lost one of his jobs in the school and was on the verge of losing the other, he couldn't help but smile, "…where was I, then?"

"Something about one part being really interesting or something?" Danny said.

"Right," he picked up his book, "Now then, here we have a fine example of…" the lesson began anew, as if nothing had happened.

----

The only sound in the room was Danny and Sam's pens scratching against paper, taking notes and making observations on what Mr. Lancer had read to them. Lancer was up at his desk, going through something intently. Danny and Sam both took their papers up at the same time and saw what he was looking at.

It was an old, worn-out, and well-loved Casper High yearbook, back from when Lancer had gone to school here. There was a picture of someone with a beard, long hair, and a red sweatsuit. Underneath read the name 'SLADE LANCER.'

"I know you're in here somewhere…" they heard him mutter.

"What're you looking for?" Danny asked.

"It's from my day. You wouldn't be interested."

"It's gotta be better than sitting around with nothing to do for the next half-hour," Lancer looked up at them. Sam seemed to be thinking the same thing as Danny.

"Well," Lancer sighed, "No one else will listen to me and I probably won't have any other chance to say it. Have a seat," they pulled up two chairs and sat down as Lancer kept flipping through the pages.


	4. What Went On?

"U…V…here we are," Lancer finally found the page he was looking for and set the book down on the desk. He put his finger on a picture of someone with a stocky build, the beginnings of a moustache, and a sport-jacket. Underneath read the name "RONALD WINTERBURG."

"That's…" Danny started to say, but quickly saw the look Lancer was giving him, "I, uh…thought I saw someone around here who looked kind of like this guy."

"He was the gym teacher here before Ms. Tetslaff. And back in my day he was the big man on campus in Casper High. While I led the cheerleading squad on the sidelines he tore across the football, basketball, and every other field like a cheetah. We were never friends, but we had nothing against each other. Until one day…" his thoughts slowly drifted back all those years…

----

As dusk fell on Casper High, the mood sank with the sun. It had been, without a doubt, the single most humiliating day in the school's history. Their junior football team had been the top-rated high school team in the state. Head Coach Feela's plays, the aggressive nature of the players, and star quarterback Ron Winterburg had led to everyone predicting them sure winners for the state championship game. The entire school had turned out for the event in high spirits, which were soon crushed like their team. The St. Bernard High Garlic Cloves destroyed the Casper High Ravens, 40 to 0. Now the spectators, players, mascots and cheerleaders were heading home, their heads hung low. About the only one still enthusiastic was Slade Lancer. From his perspective, the other side had won fair and square. Several players on the Ravens had completely disregarded the rules, resulting in several penalties, which held the team back. It had been as exciting as any game. His mind more content than any other at the stadium, he headed to his car, twirling his key chain and humming the theme to _Lawrence of Arabia _as he walked.

But as he walked, the sound of metal falling to concrete in the next parking lot, where the students and team from St. Bernard High had parked, caught his ear. He ran over and looked inside. Several members of the Ravens, among them Ron Winterburg, were sabotaging the cars of the opposite team!

"This'll show 'em," Winterburg muttered darkly. Lancer's eyes were bulging out of their sockets. All this…over a football game?

"Winterburg!" he stepped into the parking lot defiantly. Winterburg and his teammates looked up in alarm, but calmed down quickly.

"Oh," Winterburg smiled slightly, "Hey, Lancer. Don't mind us. Just givin' those Garlic Cloves what's comin' to 'em!"

"Winterburg, this violates good sportsmanship, school rules, and state and federal law!" Lancer stood his ground, "No football game is worth this! Someone could get killed!"

"What are _you _gonna do about it, Mr. goody-two-shoes?" Winterburg sneered as his friends laughed. Lancer marched off, a scowl on his face. He knew _exactly _what he was going to do. Apparently, one of the jocks took him more seriously than Winterburg.

"You think maybe we should've stopped him?" he asked, "He knows what we're doing."

"Ah, don't worry about it. He's a cheerleader! What's the worst he can do? Let's hurry up. Those Garlic Clove losers'll be done celebratin' soon."

"Mr. Winterburg!" a menacing shadow covered them. Lancer had returned, with the most feared teacher in the school; Mr. Wynn, the history teacher. He was a strict follower of all rules and gave out even stricter punishments. About the only student he was ever nice to was Lancer, who looked to him as a role model. The jocks stood frozen in their tracks, caught like deer in the headlights.

"M-M-M-Mr. Wynn!" Winterburg stammered, "We were just…"

"Endangering the lives of your peers!" Mr. Wynn shouted, "This is inexcusable!" as their teacher yelled, Winterburg's eyes fell on Lancer. Then it dawned on him.

"You!" he yelled, "You little snitch! I'll…"

"Slade here just reported a serious crime that could have resulted in serious injury, and is therefore not a "snitch." You, on the other hand, are caught red-handed!" I'll have to…" Winterburg was barely aware of the punishment Mr. Wynn was handing out. His eyes were narrowed and staring right at Lancer, who stood by, not the slightest sign of guilt, fear, or regret on his face.

----

"…He was suspended from the football team until the following year and had two months' detention," Mr. Lancer finished his recollections, "That day became even more infamous for the school and destroyed my social life, but I knew I'd done the right thing," Sam nodded in agreement. She never thought she'd see someone who went to school here who didn't reflect on how much they wanted to be popular or how popular they had been.

"So what happened between you and Winterburg?" Danny asked.

"Well, he wasn't exactly happy over what had happened," Lancer said, "One thing he was known for as well as his sporting skills was how long he could hold a grudge. He'd never been known as a bully before but, after that, I became his one and only target. He did all the usual; stuffed me into lockers, beat me up, all the old bully tricks. It kept up all through high school. When we graduated he joined the same college as me out of pure spite. He went into the same profession as me and when I took the job as English teacher here he became gym teacher and head coach. His assistant was Ms. Tetslaff. If you've ever wondered about the mutual animosity we share…now you know why."

"What happened to him?" Danny asked.

"A year ago in November we had an early snow and the roads were slick. Winterburg was heading home from a game when he got caught in a rather nasty crash."

"Ouch," Danny said, "But why are you looking all this up again now?"

"I…" Lancer shook his head, "No, you won't believe it."

"Mr. Lancer, my parents hunt ghosts."

"And I spend half my time looking up conspiracy theories and paranormal reports," Sam said. Lancer looked up at them both. Neither looked as if they wouldn't believe him.

"Well…" he sighed, "You remember the incident in the cafeteria last week?" they nodded, "Well, when I was out in the hallway I could've sworn I saw Winterburg, and again today when all your classmates were running out of here. I think it's…" the bell rang.

"Forget it. Get to your next hour," he actually smiled. A little reluctantly, Danny and Sam headed out.

----

"This Winterburg guy bullies Lancer through High School, gets the same job as him out of spite, and comes back from the grave to haunt him," Sam reviewed what they knew, "And I thought I could hold a grudge."

"No kidding," Danny nodded. It was their lunch hour. Nothing else had gone wrong for Lancer since second hour, though Principal Ishiyama still had her eye on him and there was no sign of the class that had gone running out the building. There was also no sign of Winterburg.

"Wonder where Winterburg is right now?" Sam stated the obvious.

"Wish I knew. Where's Valerie with her ghost weapons when you need her and she's not trying to kill me!?"

----

Valerie, along with everyone else in Mr. Lancer's second hour class, was still charging down the sidewalk. Their destination; the Nasty Burger.

"PARTY!" they chanted, "PARTY! PARTY! PARTY! PARTY!" it went on. The crowd broke into cheers as they charged into the burger stand, catching the cashiers by surprise. As the crowd spread apart and headed to their separate booths, Tucker managed to get free. The one Fenton Phone still in his ear, he had managed to throw off the spell completely. He looked around at the uncontrollable students.

"Hmm…" he said to himself, "A ghost this tough's not gonna go down with just the Fenton Thermos. To the FentonWorks Lab!" he struck a heroic pose before realising how much he sounded like Jack.

"Maybe we've been spending too much time at Danny's," he headed out.

----

"You really think Principal Ishiyama's mad enough to fire him?" Danny asked. He and Sam had finished their lunch off early and were heading towards his locker.

"Danny, her mother's on the school board and she fired Mr. McCaw last year for showing a history video she considered one year above the freshman grade level."

"That's a yes," they heard the slamming of a door down the hallway and several banging sounds. Another class had lost control, and Mr. Lancer had been forced outside. He was now holding the door shut, the entire class pounding at it behind him.

"IT'S A MAD-HOUSE!" he shouted, "A MAD HOUUUUUUUUUUUUUUSSSSSSSSSSE!"

"Mr. Lancer, what's going…" the door shook violently, cutting Danny off. He and Sam went up against the door to help hold it shut.

"Another class gone awry," Lancer stated the obvious, "I can't let this one get loose!" the door gave another violent shake. Making sure Lancer wasn't looking, Danny phased his head through the door. The class was out of control, slamming against the door with all their might. Those who weren't trying to break the door down were shouting at the top of their lungs to get free. Through the crowd, though, he could see green mist collecting into definite form in the back of the room.

"Winterburg," he muttered. Pulling his head out, he phased his hand through the door and the crowd and readied an energy blast. Though he didn't see it, the blast made a direct hit, blasting the ghostly gym teacher from the room. As soon as he had left, the chaos that seemed to be erupting from inside calmed down at once. The students, confused, slowly headed back to their desks. Lancer noticed. He breathed a sigh of relief.

"Thank you, you two," he looked back and forth between Danny and Sam. The bell for the next period rang. The class rammed the door so hard it bust open, and on their way out they trampled all over Lancer, Danny and Sam being knocked off to the side.

"Are you OK, Mr. Lancer?" Sam asked once the crowd cleared. Lancer got to his feet, trembling with anger.

"Little House on the Prairie!" he spat before noticing that a fourth person had joined them. Principal Ishiyama sighed, shook her head, and walked off.

"You two better head to your next class," Lancer sighed. He headed back inside his classroom and slumped into his desk. Danny and Sam looked on as he let his head fall onto the desk. They both felt so sorry for him they barely noticed the green mist floating out of a locker and into the ventilation system.


	5. Chaos in the Halls

If Mr. Lancer's topics got boring in English, then Ms. Yearling's algebra class was even worse. She droned on forever, giving more examples then was needed and explaining everything, even if it was something her students had known for years. If you had had a good day, the second you walked into her classroom, you were bored, frustrated, and on the verge of shouting it out for all to hear. If you had had a bad day, when you walked in it was about to get worse. Danny barely heard that they were dealing with graphing compound inequalities before he was half-asleep. Sam, who usually prodded him and Tucker awake in other classes, was almost as bored as he was. Danny was about to completely doze off when blue ectoplasmic smoke drifted from his mouth. Green mist was again pouring through the ventilation, filling the room. Through the window on the door, Danny could see it spreading out into the hallway. It wasn't just affecting students now; Ms. Yearling's eyes flashed red, and she gained as nasty a grin as any of the kids had.

"Sam," he elbowed her, nodding to the mist. She was still wearing the Fenton Phones. Danny grabbed the one Tucker hadn't managed to get in and put it in his ear. He had a feeling he needed more than his ghost powers to overthrow the spell this time around.

----

Mr. Lancer looked over the notes Danny and Sam had taken over the story he had read. He'd grown used to Danny failing all of his assignments, but he had actually done a pretty good job here. Sam's grade was excellent; of course, she usually passed anyway. He still didn't know why they cared so much if he was fired or not; he was also wondering why they were the only ones that hadn't been possessed or whatever it was Winterburg was doing; but he found he didn't care that much. With his situation as grave as it is and likely to grow worse, he was grateful to have any help.

He finished grading their papers and let his eyes look around the desk. They fell on a picture off in the right corner. It had been taken four years ago. A grinning Lancer was surrounded by three students; a girl with black hair, one boy with a hat, and another boy of rather generous proportions. They had been a trio, impossible to separate in school. The girl was the brainiac, the large boy the class clown, and the one with the hat an average student, but the leader of the group and a good-hearted person. It was amazing how similar they had been to what Danny, Sam and Tucker were now. He should get a picture of them like this one, Lancer thought. That is, if he could convince them; it had been hard enough talking in the other trio; and if he had enough time left at Casper High.

Just as Lancer was thinking the last thing he needed was for the entire school to erupt in chaos, the sound of glass shattering came from outside his room. He ran outside into the halls.

"What's going on out…" his eyes almost came out of their sockets. The hallway was in ruins. Locker doors had been ripped from the walls and door windows were in ruins. Students of every grade ran about like this was a breakout at Arkham Asylum, and it wasn't just students. Ms. Tetslaff, Mr. Sullivan, Mr. Weiderholt…the teachers had joined in!

"Hound of the Baskervilles!" Lancer exclaimed.

"LAN-CER!" a screech filled his ears. Principal Ishiyama came charging towards him, white in the face and seething with rage.

"_What's going on here!?_" she spat, "DO SOMETHING!"

"I was about to!" Lancer shouted back, "In case you haven't noticed, the rest of the staff's gone mad like the students!"

"You're the only sane one left then, so do something!"

"I told you, I was about…"

"That's it, Slade!" she screeched, "You're through! Finished! Fi –" she couldn't finish those last words. Ms. Tetslaff came charging at her, tackling her down the halls. Lancer stared after them for a moment, then headed in the opposite direction to break up the mess the students were causing.

----

Ms. Yearling's room was now as insane as any place in the school. The aged algebra teacher had thrown her papers everywhere and was river dancing on her desk. The students were cheering, fighting, throwing chairs, or running all over the room. The only people still behaving normally were Danny and Sam, who were becoming increasingly worried.

"Now would be a real good time to phase out of here and go for help," Sam commented.

"LOOK OUT!" Danny grabbed her and pulled them both under the desk. One of Dash's jock friends had thrown a chair and it had come close to hitting them right in the head.

"We'll go with your idea," Danny said. He phased them through the floor and down to the first floor, keeping intangible and invisible. Here it was just as chaotic as in the algebra room, students and janitors using the carts for cleaning supplies as skateboards down the hall. They finally came by Danny's locker; one of the few parts of the hall still deserted. Danny and Sam landed, becoming tangible again. Danny phased his hand into his locker and pulled out the Fenton Thermos.

"Winterburg's probably infected everyone in the school except Lancer and Principal Ishiyama," he said, strapping the thermos to his back, "No matter who else is going crazy she's sure to blame Lancer now," as if to confirm their story, Principal Ishiyama came skidding towards them, Ms. Tetslaff and a senior running away and snickering.

"THAT'S IT!" the principal screamed once she was on her feet, "No more! This is it! I've had it! Slade Lancer, you're going down!" as she raved on, blue ectoplasmic smoke drifted from Danny's mouth. He just caught sight of green smoke drifting into an air vent. Principal Ishiyama showed no signs of finishing her rant any time soon. Sam stepped in front of Danny, letting him go ghost without her seeing. Giving Sam the thermos, he turned into blue smoke and floated into the vent himself.

"When I get my hands on him I'll…" Principal Ishiyama finally marched off. Father up the hall, Sam heard a clang of metal and a shout from Danny's voice. She ran up to find Danny and Winterburg floating in the hall.

"Stay out of the way, boy," Winterburg grunted.

"Then stay out of this school!" Danny lashed out with a punch, but Winterburg caught it, tossing him against the lockers.

"Another kiss-up to the teacher," the ghost grinned mockingly, "Bet you'll end up just like Lancer," something seemed to explode in Danny's mind. No matter how sorry he felt for his English teacher, _no one_ compared them like this.

"I'm like Lancer?" he muttered, floating back up to Winterburg's level, "_I'm_ like Lancer!?" he fired a pure white energy blast into his foe, knocking him all the way down the hall and almost down the stairs. Danny sped up to him, trying to kick him down the stairs, but his foot was caught and he was thrown to the floor. Winterburg pinned him to the ground, and pushed down on Danny's head so far he had to phase it through the ceiling to keep something from breaking. As he phased his head through, he saw Lancer and Ishiyama surrounded by crazed students and teachers with a dangerous gleam in their eyes.

"This is all your fault!" Ishiyama screamed at Lancer. Danny suddenly felt a surge of power. Two ghost-rings shot across his body, keeping him in ghost form but knocking Winterburg off. He flew up, spreading his hands out. Green smoke poured out from them, drifting down the halls and through the ventilation. Danny completely forgot about Winterburg; all he could think of was getting Ishiyama and those crazy students away from Lancer. As his smoke drifted through the building and overflowed the students, their eyes flashed green. They stopped what they were doing. Then, suddenly, every student, teacher, and staff member in the building except Lancer and Sam began streaming towards the exits; even Ishiyama. They all ran from the building, down the road, and towards an old farm at the edge of town.

"Sweet!" Danny looked at his still smoking hands, "I have no idea how I did that, but, sweet!" he felt something heavy ran into him, cutting off his self-congratulation. He went flying through the halls and skidded up to Sam's feet. She hadn't moved at all.

"Danny, what's going…" Danny covered her mouth, grabbed her, and phased them both inside a locker. He waited until Winterburg drifted by before letting go.

"What happened?" Sam whispered, "Where did that smoke come from?"

"That was me," he said, "Somehow I managed to get everyone except us and Lancer to leave. I need you to find Lancer and make sure he's all right. I'll hold this moron off. After you find him come back with the Fenton Thermos and we'll finish this. Got it?"

"Got it. Good luck, Danny," they phased out of the locker and then Sam headed toward the stairs, Danny staying behind.

"Hey, Winterburg!" he shouted, catching the gym teacher's attention.

"Son, you're really startin' to annoy me," he muttered. He fired an energy blast, and Danny raised a shield in defence. He flew up, punching the teacher back, then fired a blast of his own. The teacher-ghost dodged and seemed to become a cannon ball caught on ghost-fire, spiralling into Danny and knocking him through the door at the corner of the hall.

"Ow," Danny rubbed his head as he got up, "Tough. Hope Lancer's not hard to find, 'cause I can't keep this up for long," he looked up. Winterburg was spinning towards him again, and Danny barely dodged in time.

----

Sam sped down the stairs like a cheetah, wanting to get back upstairs as soon as she could. Lancer wasn't that far away. He stood alone, a little dazed, a little confused, but otherwise just fine. Breathing a sigh of relief, Sam turned back toward the stairs, but…

"Samantha!" Lancer ran up, "What's going on!?"

"Uh…" she thought, "there's a ghost! It took over everyone in the school! I'd get out of here if I were you!" it didn't work.

"I know there's a ghost! I told you about Winterburg!" Lancer suddenly noticed something odd, "Where's Danny?"

"Um…" they heard a crash from upstairs. Then it hit Lancer.

"Study in Scarlet, don't tell me he's trying to take on the ghost of Ronald Winterburg!? Where are they, Sam?" Sam didn't know what to do. It didn't sound like the fight was going well, but she didn't want to risk Lancer seeing Danny. Another crashing sound and a yell from Danny made up her mind.

"This way," she sighed. They headed upstairs.

----

Danny missed another punch and felt one connect with his stomach. Things had gone from bad to worse. His gloves were starting to tear up and he had a nasty pain from one of Winterburg's energy blasts still in his side. The gym teacher smacked Danny back down on the floor. His head hit the ground so hard he snapped back into human form. He was trapped.

"Now," Winterburg grinned, charging up energy blasts in his hands, "Time for you to…" a book flew through his head, distracting him. Lancer stood firmly in the hall, a grim expression on his face and Sam right behind him.

"Hands off the student, Winterburg," he spat.


	6. Time to End

"Well, well, well…" Winterburg chuckled, floating over to look right in Lancer's face, "If it ain't Slade Lancer. How's it goin', pal? How long's it been? A year, maybe? What was our last moment together? Let me think…oh, yeah, that's right, I remember! My class and I beat the stuffing out of you at the day before Thanksgiving break freshman class competitions!"

"Danny, Sam, head outside," Lancer said, not taking his eyes away from Winterburg's, "This is between the two of us."

"But Mr. Lancer…" Danny began.

"_Now_," there was no way to argue. Sam ran over, helped Danny to his feet, and they headed down the hallway. Once they had rounded the corner, however, they stopped and held back, listening in on the conversation.

"For your information, Winterburg," Lancer was making his comeback, "My class far surpassed yours where it counted throughout the year. And you know good and well you tripped my students in that final event!"

"Come on, Lancer," the ghost was using a mock-innocent voice, "Why would I trip kids?"

"You always cheated. You always bent the rules. It all goes back to that day in the parking lot!"

"On that last point I could not agree more," Winterburg's tone now became as harsh as Lancer's, "I've never let your little snitch act slide, and I'm not about to! Noticed anything odd around here lately?"

"I saw you in the act, Ron," Lancer said, "And I know you well enough to catch on to your scheme. Well it didn't work! Ishiyama never had time to sack me! There was some other mist that went through here!" Danny suddenly realised how close his going back into human form and Lancer's arrival were in time. A bit too close.

"Did he see anything?" he asked Sam. She shook her head.

"Yeah, well…" they heard Winterburg go on, "When she comes back you'll be dead. Literally!"

"It's time to end this, Winterburg!" Lancer said, "Enough is enough!"

"My thoughts exactly!" the ghost retorted.

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah!"

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah!"

"Oh yeah?"

"YES!" Winterburg suddenly sent out a wave of spectral energy, knocking Lancer into a locker so hard the door bent behind him. Danny immediately readied himself to go ghost, but Sam held him back.

"Danny, wait," she said quickly.

"We have to do something," he muttered back, "Lancer's gonna get killed!"

"I have an idea," she said, "Come on," she headed down the hall. With one look back at Lancer and Winterburg, Danny followed. Neither Lancer nor Winterburg heard them at all. Lancer pulled himself from the locker and fell to his knees while Winterburg charged up an energy blast. He sent it flying, but Lancer pulled back and, in an amazing display of manoeuvrability considering what his appearance suggested of his shape, made several flips down the hall and landed up on his feet.

"I've still got it!" he shouted. He began remembering several times when he'd used that move while cheerleading when Winterburg rammed into him, knocking him back several feet. Lancer quickly got to his feet, dodged a few energy blasts, and headed down the hallway.

"Runnin' to the man again, Lancer?" Winterburg called after him, "You don't have a man left to run to!" with a maniacal laugh, the ghost went after his prey. As he flew, a bucket went through his head. It didn't hurt, but he did stop and look around. Lancer had managed to open a janitor's closet and was standing outside the doorway, waving a mop around like a bo staff or sword. Halfway through his routine, he dropped it.

"Oh, you've _got_ to be kidding!" Winterburg laughed before his eyes went red and he sent out another wave of spectral energy, knocking Lancer into the closet. The shelves and the cart that had held the mop all collapsed on him and caught his foot, making it impossible for him to stand up or get out. He was trapped.

"This is it!" Winterburg laughed, charging up another energy blast, "This is the end! You're through, Lancer! I will have my ultimate revenge!" he raised his hands above his head, and Lancer closed his eyes and waited for the strike. But none came. A football had flown through Winterburg's head, and he'd begun looking for the origin. Sam was standing in the hallway, her hands on her hips and a mocking smile on her face. The Fenton Thermos was nowhere to be seen.

"Hey, look!" she said, in a voice as mocking as her grin, "It's _Winter-burg_! The _football_ star! The _gym teacher_! Let's see some of your _moves_!"

"Watch yourself, girl," Winterburg frowned, "I'm busy."

"What's the matter?" Sam kept up the mocking voice, "Is the gym teacher scared of taking on a _girl_?"

"You'd better watch yourself, missy…"

"Ooh, I'm soooooooo scared! What's the _ghost_ going to do about it? Float around until I die of boredom?"

"That's it!" Winterburg lost it, "That's it, missy! Lancer can wait! This calls for immediate action! You're goin' down!"

"You'll have to catch me first!" Sam took off down the hall. Winterburg charged after her like a bull in a china shop. Sam _was_ pretty fast, but he could fly quick enough to keep up. She kept going, then suddenly stopped, turned around, and faced the ghost, her arms crossed and the mocking grin still on her face.

"Well, missy," Winterburg gasped, "Any last words before I fry ya' and finish my business with your teacher!?"

"How 'bout I finish it for you!?" a voice shouted. An ectoplasmic energy blast nailed Winterburg right in the face, knocking him up against the wall. Danny ripped the Fenton Thermos from his back and opened it up. With a final scream, Winterburg was sucked inside. Danny changed back to human form and dropped to the ground. Lancer came running towards them, the cart caught in his pants and dragging behind him.

"What happened!?" he gasped. Danny held up the thermos.

"My parents have their moments," he said, remembering the first time he used the device in his hand.

"LANCER!" a harsh voice called behind them. Principal Ishiyama had returned to the school, trembling with rage.

"Not to worry, Ms. Ishiyama," Lancer said, "Everything's been taken care of."

"I'll say it has!" she spat, "Clear out your desk and be out of here by the time the bell rings! You've lost control of everything! Your class, the school, and your mind! Get out of here!"

"Hold it, Principal Ishiyama!" Danny said defiantly.

"Don't worry, Mr. Fenton. You and Ms. Manson are…"

"If it was all Lancer's fault these things happened," Sam interrupted, "Then why were _you_ one of the people who went running out of the school?"

"Um…"

"And why were the other teachers acting as crazy as the students?" Danny added.

"Well, I…"

"And why didn't you do anything to stop them?" Sam finished. The principal had no answers.

"Well…I've got to do something! The school district's convinced it's Lancer and you have to admit that all these things are happening around him…"

"I think my parents can answer that," Danny tossed her the thermos. It read OCCUPIED on the slot that told that information, "Have them look over this thermos. The ghost of Coach Winterburg's in there. He caused everything."

"You expect me to believe that!?" Ishiyama spat.

"Call up my parents," Danny said again, "Look up 'FentonWorks' in the phone book."

----

Danny, Sam and Lancer waited outside Principal Ishiyama's office. She'd been talked into calling up the Fentons and describing everything that had gone on over the past few days. Danny and Sam stood calmly up against the wall; Lancer was pacing up and down nervously, occasionally stopping to bite his nails. Finally the door opened and the principal walked out. Lancer went as stiff as a board, sweating furiously. Ishiyama sighed.

"Well?" Sam asked.

"I don't have a choice…" the principal sighed again, "…but to accept the facts. There's a ghost in this thing," she tossed the thermos back to Danny, "and Lancer's innocent. You're back to both your jobs," Lancer just stared at her for a moment. Then, suddenly, as if breaking free of chains, he shot up into the air threw his arms and legs out.

"YES!" he shouted, "No one manages to remove me from my teaching career! No one! Not to me! Slade Lancer!" he now noticed the stairs he was getting from Ishiyama, Danny, and Sam.

"Yes. Well," he coughed, "Thank you, Ms. Ishiyama."

"But I can't go to the school district with this story," the principal added, "Not even professional ghost-hunters will convince them about this! Someone here has to get punished! The students need to…"

"Hey!" Danny and Sam protested.

"Just have my parents talk to them," Danny said, "I'm sure they'll…"

"No, I'm afraid Ms. Ishiyama's right," Lancer said simply, "This has to go on the students. Though I think Mr. Fenton and Ms. Manson should be free of punishment. After all, they were the ones who caught Winterburg and the only ones not to fall under his spell."

"Fine," Ishiyama sighed once more, "I'll leave you to the punishments. I ordered the students to stay outside until I settled this, they're waiting for you. I need an aspirin," she headed towards the nurse's office. Lancer now turned his attention to Danny and Sam.

"I've been wondering," he said, "How did you two manage to throw off ol' Winterburg's spell?"

"The Fenton Phones," Danny took the one he still had out of his ear, "They filter out spectral noises. I must have lost my other one somewhere," he added as a cover, in case Lancer had noticed he was missing one.

"I see. Well, I can't tell you two how grateful I am for all your help and support," Lancer smiled, "But don't think that means I won't be keeping an eye on you," he added, raising an eyebrow.

"Right," Danny said. Both he and Sam returned the smile, "And Tucker was trying to get one of these Fenton Phones in when the spell overtook our class and he did try to throw it off. You think he could also not get in trouble?" as if on cue for a play, Tucker ran up to them, armed with the Fenton Fisher, Ghost Gabber, one of the spare thermoses, and Fenton Foamers.

"Where's the ghost!?" he demanded, his eyes darting all over the place.

"Taken care of," Danny said. Tucker now dropped all the weapons and suddenly became nervous.

"Yeah. Say, Mr. Lancer…" he laughed, "I was trying to throw of the spell…and you know I tried to get back to the school, but…"

"Don't worry, Mr. Foley," Lancer held up a hand to silence him, "You're fine. Head down to my classroom and finish reading through the story. Hand in your notes to me when I come by to dismiss you," he now turned to Danny and Sam, "You two lovebirds can…"

"WE'RE NOT LOVEBIRDS!" they shouted in unison. How, after everything that had happened today, could someone think of that _now_!?

"Psyche!" Lancer laughed, "You two can just wait in my office while I deal with your fellow classmates."

"What're you gonna do to them?" Sam asked. Lancer's grin became unusually sly.

----

The entire student body (save Danny, Sam and Tucker) was assembled out in the football field. Most people served as the audience. The freshman football team stood confused in the field, and the cheerleading squad was with Lancer off to the side.

"As you know," Lancer was saying, "The state championship of my junior year was one of the most disastrous defeats in Casper High history. As punishment for all the insanity of today, well will be re-performing that infamous day. The freshman class will serve as the Ravens, the seniors as the Garlic Cloves, and the cheerleading squad will be led by me," everyone reluctantly took up their positions. Lancer grabbed a set of pom-poms.

"Let the reinactment begin!" he declared. Dash and his friends looked out across the field. The senior team was charging towards them. They barely had time to scream before they were crushed under the weight of the opposing team.

**The End**


End file.
